Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Boosts Stock Position in Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its stake in shares of Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) by 97.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,380 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Entergy were worth $2,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 107.3% during the 4th quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 73,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,596,000 after buying an additional 38,200 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 57,457 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,356,000 after buying an additional 29,037 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Entergy by 100.3% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 36,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,789,000 after buying an additional 18,415 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank raised its stake in Entergy by 97.9% during the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 44,738 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,392,000 after purchasing an additional 22,126 shares during the period. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Entergy by 110.9% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 2,936 shares during the period. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In related news, insider Deanna D. Rodriguez sold 6,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.94, for a total transaction of $450,146.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,952 shares in the company, valued at $292,210.88. The trade was a 60.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Entergy Stock Performance

NYSE ETR opened at $87.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $37.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $80.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.43. Entergy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.80 and a fifty-two week high of $88.38.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 8.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Entergy Corporation will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Entergy’s payout ratio is currently 98.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ETR. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Entergy from $72.50 to $82.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Entergy from $68.50 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised Entergy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Entergy from $79.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

Entergy Profile

Entergy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and retail distribution of electricity in the United States. It generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power in portions of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, including the City of New Orleans; and distributes natural gas.